Belgian artist Youniss announces the release of his new album, 'Good Effort!', due out March 18th. The announcement is accompanied by the release second single, 'Open To Interpretation', featuring US experimental hip-hop stalwart Quelle Chris and Belgian underground artist Porcelain id.
The track follows the recently released single 'Gits Worse' ft. Petite Noir
and blends elements of jazz, post-punk, and experimental hip hop and draws comparisons to Black Country, New Road and Cities Aviv.
Inspired by the city as a living organism, Good Effort! draws on Youniss’ experiences growing up near Antwerp and reflects the contradictions of modern urban life. The album features collaborators including Pink Siifu, Petite Noir, Quelle Chris, Dienne, and Porcelain id, balancing sharp social critique with a warmer, more expansive sound.
Despite the cynicism forged by witnessing his environment change; Youniss offers a crucial message of perseverance. The album's title - Good Effort! - is a defiant embrace of trying again.
The track Open To Interpretation also appears in Good Effort!, a mini-series starring Youniss as a taxi driver navigating the absurd, tender, and revealing moments of city life. Episode one, “Auntie,” is out now.
Live dates
- 19.02 - MENT - Ljubljana, SL
- 04.04 - BRDCST - Brussels, BE
- 01.05 - Trix - Antwerp, BE
- 07.05 - VIERNULVIER - Ghent, BE
Tracklist
1. Still Point
2. Gits Worse ft. Petite Noir
3. Notice
4. Glass Ceilings
5. Take That ft. Pink Siifu
6. Open To Interpretation ft. Quelle Chris & Porcelain ID
7. Birds (Real) ft. Ashden & Amani
8. Found Footage ft. Dienne
9. The Sun is Falling! ft. Seigfried Komidashi
10. Kill The Light
11. Roof Collapses
12. Why Don’t You?
About Youniss
Antwerp-based multidisciplinary artist Youniss Ahamad defies easy categorisation, blending post-punk, hip-hop, noise, and jazz into intense, visceral performances that have earned him attention at festivals including Rewire, Roadburn, and Les Nuits Botanique. Shaped by his Ivorian and Iraqi heritage and his experience growing up in the Antwerp suburbs, his 2023 album White Space marked a shift toward distorted, experimental storytelling, followed by 2024’s Do We Try Beyond The Edge?, which sharpened its critique of Belgium’s lingering colonial structures.
On his upcoming album Good Effort!, Ahamad moves beyond heavy distortion to explore the full range of his voice, framing an ode to the modern city and a pointed response to gentrification through a jazz-inflected sound that nods to Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, and Slauson Malone—continuing a career defined by restless evolution and defiance of expectation.